Florida State's Ryan Reid goes on improbable journey from role player to NBA Draft pick

July 16, 2010|by Andrew Carter, Orlando Sentinel

Ryan Reid and some of his former teammates at Florida State gathered around a TV last month, tuned into the NBA Draft. Reid said earlier this week he figured he'd watch to find out where Solomon Alabi, the Seminoles' 7-foot-1 center, would be selected.

Then, not long after Alabi went towards the end of the second round, a weird thing happened. Reid, a 6-foot-8 forward, heard his name announced and saw it appear on screen. The Indiana Pacers had drafted him with the 57th pick and then traded him to Oklahoma City.

The selection elicited confusion from the pundits on ESPN. Jay Bilas, one of the network's draft analysts, said Reid wouldn't have been among his top 100 NBA prospects. Reid hadn't been in included in any number of the countless mock drafts. It seemed few outside of Tallahassee had ever heard of him.

Heck, not even Ryan Reid thought Ryan Reid would be drafted. So when he was …

"Everybody jumped up and they were giving me high fives and stuff," Reid said. "But I was just sitting there. I was a little shocked, you know what I'm saying? I was just smiling. I didn't know what to do."

The Thunder's selection of Reid might have been the most surprising pick of the entire draft. At the least, it ranked among the draft's best stories.

Here was a guy who averaged who averaged a meager 6.8 points per game during his senior season. Who never scored more than 17 in any college game. More than finding his way to the basket for easy lay-ups, Reid often found his way to the floor in chase of loose balls.

He was never a star at Florida State. Far from it. But if the Atlantic Coast Conference could have somehow measured heart and effort, Reid might have led the league in those categories.

Reid is back in his hometown of Fort Lauderdale now, but he recently finished competing with the Thunder in the NBA Summer League in Orlando. In four games, he averaged 8.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and played with the toughness that defined him during his years at Florida State.

"I was just going hard every possession and just doing what the coaches ask – play defense, get tip-ins, rebound," Reid said. "Even if I don't get the rebound, knock it out to a guard or something. Just being real active."

After a few games in the summer league, Andrew Vye, Reid's agent, said he began to hear the same thought from personnel with other NBA teams: "Now we see what Oklahoma City sees."

Reid said he knew Oklahoma City had liked him since the team watched him play in a Seminoles' victory at Georgia Tech last December. Reid scored those career-high 17 points and helped shut down Tech's Derrick Favors, the third pick in the draft, and second-round-pick Gani Lawal.

The Thunder were the only team interested in Reid. The only team that talked to Reid before the draft. The only team that offered Reid a chance to work out before the draft.

Along Reid's improbable journey from college role player to NBA Draft pick, he has become representative of a kind of "anti-superstar." The Wall Street Journal earlier this week profiled Reid's selection. The headline read: "Meet the NBA's Non-LeBron."

It's a fitting contrast. While LeBron James was holding an hour-long special to announce his decision to join the Miami Heat, Reid was attempting to solidify his chances of securing a roster spot. There are no guarantees for second-round picks. No guaranteed money. No guaranteed place on the team.

So Reid will wait. He'll travel to Oklahoma City later this month for a series of workouts. Then comes training camp. There's a chance – a good one, even – that Reid will wind up in the NBA's Developmental League.

Then again, no one – not even Reid – thought he'd make it this far. So would it be that surprising if perhaps the best story of the NBA Draft becomes even better?